Donaghy Followed Father's Footsteps, but Took His Own Troubled Path

By JERÉ LONGMAN

Published: July 26, 2007

If, as accused, the referee Tim Donaghy bet on N.B.A. games, he undermined the legacy of his father as a referee as well as the venerable basketball traditions of the Philadelphia Catholic League.

Here in the Philadelphia suburbs where Donaghy, 40, grew up, there seems to be only muted sympathy for a man who was described by many as having an abrasive, confrontational personality from boyhood.

On Tuesday, an editorial in Donaghy's hometown newspaper, The Delaware County Times, said that acquaintances knew him as ''a feisty competitor and also something of a jerk.''

His behavior has led to questions regarding how thoroughly the N.B.A. scrutinized Donaghy's conduct, given much-publicized accounts over the past five days of his legal disputes and clashes with former neighbors. There are also potential discrepancies in his biography contained in the league media guide dealing with referees.

Compassion appears reserved mainly for Donaghy's retired father, Gerry, who was a highly respected collegiate referee in such conferences as the Atlantic Coast and the Atlantic 10, and who officiated four Final Fours in the early 1990s, including the 1992 championship game between Duke and Michigan.

Reached by telephone, Gerry Donaghy said he had no comment.

''I'm sure it's heartbreaking,'' said Hank Nichols, a friend of the Donaghy family who is the N.C.A.A.'s coordinator of men's basketball officials. ''It's such a tragedy for officiating. Players have fixed games. Coaches did this and that. Referees were always above that. Out of the blue, a thunderbolt. It's once in a lifetime, in my lifetime, and it's not good.''

It would not have surprised many in this basketball-rich area that Tim Donaghy followed his father into the ranks of men who wore striped shirts and blew whistles for a living. In fact, Donaghy was one of four graduates of Cardinal O'Hara High School, in Delaware County, to officiate in the N.B.A. this past season, joining Joe Crawford, Ed Malloy and Mike Callahan, who is known as Duke.

O'Hara participates in the Catholic League, an enduring institution built on faith, strong family ties, generational loyalty and the small-town feel of neighborhood connections, where there always seems to be a guy who knows a guy who may be able to help a guy.

Describing devoted fans at O'Hara games, Frank Fitzpatrick, an alumnus, wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday: ''They are men, many of them Irish, who once played basketball. They played together'' or ''as opponents on school and C.Y.O. teams in Delaware County's numerous basketball-mad Catholic parishes. They are there because they still love the game. Some sate their passions by coaching the teams they once played for or reminiscing in bars in the neighborhoods where they grew up. Others referee.''

Growing up in nearby Havertown, Tim Donaghy possessed familiar basketball passions, but he also appeared driven to the point of combustibility, a small boy who seemed to have the need to prove himself by arguing and picking fights, several acquaintances said in interviews.

He was ''always trying to be better than anyone at anything,'' said Scott Newman, who played pickup basketball with Donaghy. ''He was always trying to put people down to make himself look better.''

Larry Shane, a former head baseball coach at Villanova, said: ''He didn't have a good relationship with other kids on the block. He was a small, frail kid. Maybe he was trying to prove something.''

Not everyone had this dour impression. Nichols, the N.C.A.A. coordinator and former head of the department of education and human services at Villanova, said he remembered Donaghy as ''always very polite'' and ''a smart kid.''

Michelle Wasserman, a friend from West Chester, Pa., said that after she completed treatment for a drinking problem last year, Donaghy had arranged a dinner in her honor, making sure that no alcohol was served and giving her a $150 gift certificate for her birthday.

''I think he's a great guy,'' she said.

Meanwhile, there may be discrepancies on his athletic r?m?as stated in his biography in the media guide.

At O'Hara, from which he graduated in 1985, Donaghy was a starting pitcher, but records indicate he did not make the all-Catholic League baseball team, as the media guide states. As a high school basketball player, he was ''athletic'' and ''worked hard,'' but was not a starter, according to his coach, Buddy Gardler. Gardler said that Donaghy was not named to the all-Delaware County basketball team, as the media guide states.

The media guide also says that Donaghy played varsity baseball at Villanova. College officials said he might have tried out for the team, but never played for the varsity. The N.B.A. declined to comment Wednesday except to say that information in the media guide was provided by its referees. Still, it was not immediately clear if the incorrect information is also on Donaghy's r?m?r was provided to the media guide by someone other than Donaghy.

Donaghy remained tied to sports through refereeing. According to The Delaware County Times, he worked part time in a funeral home while officiating high school games until, at age 23, he joined the Continental Basketball Association. Thirteen seasons ago, at 28, he joined the N.B.A. In a 1998 interview, Gerry Donaghy told the hometown paper of his son's abilities: ''He's good. Tim always knew what he wanted to do.''

Just as Philadelphia has supplied a stream of coaches to the N.B.A., so has the area produced referees for the league, including two considered among the all-time best -- Mendy Rudolph (Philadelphia) and Earl Strom (Pottstown, Pa.). Referees bonded and helped to groom younger referees into the pipeline, said Gardler, the O'Hara coach.

''Guys like Jake O'Donnell and Eddie Rush could help you get in,'' Gardler said. ''They could bring you to a rookie league.''

In retrospect, some acquaintances wonder whether Donaghy got his shot more out of deference to his father than out of an appreciation for his own skills. ''I would think,'' said Shane, the former Villanova coach, ''that his father is devastated.''

Photo: Tim Donaghy was one of four N.B.A. referees from the same Philadelphia area high school this past season. (Photograph by Ryan Collerd for The New York Times)